Aim-listed gold explorer Oriole Resources has received a rebate of £165 000 from UK Revenue and Customs.
This relates to a research and development (R&D) tax relief claim as a result of geoscientific advances made by the company through its exploration programmes in Senegal and, more recently, Cameroon.
The claim is for the year ended December 31, 2019, and follows the company’s successful claims for the prior three years from 2016 to 2018.
Oriole CFO Bob Smeeton says the claim submitted by the company continues to demonstrate that it qualifies for the R&D tax relief by performing research work on potential areas of mineralisation in order to build the geological data necessary to prove or disprove the economic feasibility of future mining operations in those areas.
The size of the claim is significantly higher value than the previous three years, as a result of enhanced exploration activities undertaken by the group during 2019.
“This is a significant uplift on previous rebates, reflecting the level of exploration work undertaken by the company in Cameroon during 2019. Securing this rebate so soon after the year end enables us to progress our planning for the next field season in Cameroon.
“The funds will be used to progress our technical programme in Cameroon, which we anticipate will continue with a maiden drilling programme later this year, subject to ongoing travel restrictions around Covid-19,” Smeeton explains.
The company is exploring the Senala licence in Cameroon and the Bibemi and Wapouzé projects in Cameroon.
Further, the company has made submissions for eight new licences in central Cameroon.